February 1, 2025 • 35 mins
Join us for a compelling conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Oyekan, Vice President of Imaging and Pharmacy Services at Stanford Healthcare, who opens up about her transformative journey through the healthcare leadership landscape. From her early days climbing the ranks at Kaiser Permanente to an introspective phase caring for her aging parents, Dr. Oyekan's path is nothing short of inspiring. Her time in consulting profoundly reshaped her views on patient-centered care, adding depth to her leadership style and renewing her sense of purpose.
Dr. Oyekan unveils her unique LEADERSHIP philosophy, a blueprint for success that champions leading by example, maintaining accountability, and embracing interdependence. Her pioneering role as the first African-American female regional vice president in operations and quality sets the stage for a powerful discussion on authentic and sustainable leadership. The episode navigates through reducing healthcare variation, optimizing care environments, and enhancing vendor management, all while prioritizing quality and patient experience.
The synergy between our host, Grant McGaugh, and Dr. Oyekan underscores a shared commitment to innovation and growth in healthcare. As they explore strategies for healthcare value optimization, the conversation steers towards personal branding, maintaining a growth mindset, and the crucial role of collaboration. Concluding with mutual appreciation, this episode celebrates the dynamic partnership and looks forward to future endeavors, showcasing the power of personal and professional development in the realm of healthcare leadership.
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest marketing trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates from us, be sure to follow us at 5starbdm.com. See you next time on Follow The Brand!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome everyone to the Follow Brand Podcast.
This is your host, grantMcGaugh, and I'm going to take
it all the way out to the WestCoast.
I have not been there in awhile, but I've been talking to
Dr Elizabeth O'Yakin over thelast month or two or maybe three
.
Matter of fact, and we have amutual friend that's Denzel Ross
(00:25):
, and she was talking to Denzeland Denzel brought up my name.
She said I'm going to look himup.
I'm going to look up GrantMcGaugh.
I like what he does and I wantto have a conversation with him
and see how we can work together.
So I want to bring her to thestage because I love me some.
Dr O'Yagan, she is wonderful.
She has a great story.
(00:45):
We're going to share some ofthat story with you today and I
encourage you to really getinvolved, think about some of
these things that she's talkingabout and let's have a great
conversation.
So, dr Oyekun, you'd like tointroduce yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Thank you very much, grant.
It's truly an honor and aprivilege to be here with you
today.
I am Dr Elizabeth Oyekon and Iam the current vice president of
imaging and pharmacy servicesfor the Stanford Healthcare and
Stanford Healthcare Tri-Valley.
It's a privilege to be here andto engage with you today on the
(01:26):
topic of just healthcareoverall and leadership as well.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Well, we want to talk about you as well, because your
story I found very intriguing.
Everyone has a pivotal moment,If you really think back in time
, that everyone has a pivotalmoment.
If you really think back intime, you've had defining
moments in your life that putyou in the trajectory that
(01:51):
you're in now.
Maybe over the last five yearsyou've been working in a certain
role or you had certainresponsibility that started some
time ago.
We got to talking.
You were talking about a kindof permanente, how that kind of
catapulted you in a whole otherdirection, for where you were at
that time in life.
Talk to us just a little bitabout your journey.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
All right.
So I really have had theprivilege when I was at Kaiser
Permanente, to have very strongmentors, sponsors and coaches.
That really helped me.
Even though I started out inpharmacy, I very quickly pivoted
to taking on a lot moreresponsibilities, and my last
(02:38):
responsibility there was beingthe regional vice president of
operations and of quality forthe region of Colorado.
And then, in about 2016, I hadto go through a transformation
(03:00):
in my career in my career whereI had to step down from
operations into a whole newworld of consulting in order to
give me the flexibility I needed, as well as the time I needed
in order to become a caregiverfor my parents.
And I actually call this time awilderness period in my life
(03:25):
because I witnessed firsthandthe challenges as well as really
the wonderfulness of old age,as well as also seeing the great
empathy and care that peoplegave in the healthcare system
(03:46):
and what it did is it justfurther deepened and reshaped my
perspective around healthcareleadership, around healthcare in
general.
The other thing that it didduring that period that I had to
take care of my parents is thatit gave me a whole new
(04:08):
perspective on the power ofempathy, the power of true
patient-centered care and reallythe opportunities to engage in
my community my community.
So, after about five years ofbeing in the consulting world
(04:29):
and being a caregiver, myincredibly wonderful sister in
England decided to take over thecare of my parents, and what
that did is it gave me theopportunity again to rethink of
what I wanted to do in healthcare, and what I said was,
(04:50):
regardless of what I did inhealth care, whether I stayed in
the consulting world, whether Iwent back into operations, one
of the things that I gained wasa new and a renewed sense of
purpose, and so today I can tellyou that what my professional
mission is and what I aspire tocontinuously do every single day
(05:15):
, is to make the lives of peoplebetter through leadership,
through education and throughcommunity, and that's what I
hope I am now able to give everysingle day in the work that I
do, and that really stemmed fromthat wilderness period in my
(05:37):
career journey.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
I'm so glad you talked through that.
Sometimes we feel vulnerable.
We don't really put thosethings out there, but realizing
that some of the challenges wego through in life are actually
the catapult to get you to adifferent level or a higher
level in what you're doing me onyour track for leadership was
(06:05):
because of your consultingbackground, because you went
through this wilderness period.
When you got back intoleadership at a healthcare
organization, you had adifferent brand.
They saw you differently.
You had a wider outlook.
Talk to us a little bit aboutthat.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
All right.
So before I went into theconsulting world, I was
definitely in operations and Ihad been in operations from
starting in pharmacy all the wayto overseeing the operations
for a total health system in theColorado region, as well as
quality, when I went into mywilderness period and I went
(06:53):
into the consulting world.
Now, looking back, I realizeit's probably one of the best
things that ever happened.
And why do I say that that everhappened?
And why do I say that In theconsulting world, what I learned
was the whole idea of strategy.
At a 30,000 foot level, I knewstrategy boots on the ground in
(07:17):
health systems, in operations,but strategy at a global level
working with health plans butstrategy at a global level
working with health plans,working with manufacturers, was
a whole different ballgame.
And so overseeing all thosedepartments that I've seen, as
well as now having that globalperspective of health care,
(07:42):
health care trends, what thathas been able to do for me are
the following things First ofall, it's allowed me to
integrate different disciplinesbecause I have an understanding
of, like, the core needs of thedisciplines, and it's also
allowed me to bridge strategyand execution, bridge strategy
(08:12):
and execution, so having avision and also being able to
execute it on global scales aswell, as departmentals at a
departmental level have beenable to do.
The other thing that has alsooccurred in bringing the
consulting arm and bringing theoperation arm together is really
driving innovation andsystemness in an organization
(08:32):
and, very, very importantly,it's really allowed me to
understand the criticalimportance of having
relationships, of collaborating,and not just collaborating
within departments that is veryimportant but collaborating
across the organization butoutside of the organization.
(08:54):
So, in consulting, when we arecollaborating, we're bringing in
providers, we're bringing inpharma, we're bringing in pharma
, we're bringing in politicians,we're bringing in a number of
stakeholders in the healthcarespace.
So that's what also thisallowed me to do.
(09:15):
One of the most important things, though, that I will say that I
have gained, looking at thisglobal perspective, is really
understanding the importance ofhealth equity and how health
equity really it's a thread thatis woven through every
discipline in healthcare inorder for us to achieve what I
(09:38):
call the aspirational vision ofhealthcare that we have in this
country, and that's what I callthe quintuple aim.
It's us looking to see how do weimprove care, improve access,
improve patient outcomes,improving the cost of care, but
(09:59):
also improving the interactivityof our providers and our staff
in order to bring equity toeveryone.
So that is really what havingthis global perspective of
operations and consulting that'swhat it was able to do.
And so, when I was beinginterviewed for the role that I
(10:22):
currently have, when I asked youknow what were the core things
that had them choose me over 30plus candidates and they said
that the ability that you wereable to bring bringing in
operation, ability to executeand bringing in global strategy
(10:46):
and vision was something thatwas unique, that they had not
really seen.
So that is what, even though,looking back, when I had to
switch from operations toconsulting, I said, oh my gosh,
this is a whole different toconsulting.
I said, oh my gosh, this is awhole different game.
It was very challenging, butnow, looking back, I could not
(11:15):
have had a better period in mylife to continue to grow
professionally.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Well, we're glad that that happened.
You know, at the time you'relike, you know it's kind of.
You know it's easy to look backsometimes and sometimes it's
hard to look forward, especiallyif you're going through a
challenge.
You can't see the positivityalways in certain situations.
(11:38):
But this is the path of growthand we have choices.
We can either keep goingforward, we can fall back, or we
can just stay in that statusquo.
You took on the challengebecause of your values.
You helped your parents Ithought that was wonderful Put
you on a different track, gotinto consulting and then, when
you came back to the healthcareleadership, you were ready.
(12:00):
You were ready.
You were probably much furtheralong than you would have been
if you had taken a differentroute.
Now most people don't know.
I'm going to bring out one ofyour secrets.
You're an author.
You have written several bookson leadership.
I want to first know what.
What was your passion aboutwriting the books?
(12:23):
What propelled you Like?
You know I need to get this outand then tell us about what the
book is about and who you'relooking to impact.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Thank you, grant.
So I have had the privilege ofwriting a number of books, some
in the area of health equity incollaboration with team members,
some in the area of pharmacyand care delivery models, but
the one I would say that I ammost proud of is the one that I
(12:57):
wrote around leadership, and letme give you a little bit of
background as to why I evenfinally wrote that book.
Okay, as I said earlier on, bybackground I am a pharmacist,
and when I became the regionalvice president for operations
(13:18):
and quality also the firstAfrican-American female to hold
that type of a position peoplekept asking me, elizabeth,
what's your secret to successwhen it comes to leadership?
Because it appears that nomatter what department so
whether you're in primary careor surgical services, whether
(13:42):
you're in pharmacy or radiology,no matter where you are you
seem to be able to be successfulin leading your teams.
And so people asked me what ismy secret to success?
And I said you know what?
I don't know if I have a secret, but what I started to do, I
started to really think what arethose components about
(14:07):
leadership that have become coreto how I lead, leadership that
have become core to how I leadand believe it or not, what I
realized was that the termleadership is not just a noun,
it's not just a verb, it'sactually an acronym.
It's an acronym to how I leadon a consistent basis.
(14:33):
It's an acronym that allows meto check in to say am I leading
in the way that will makewherever I am better for me
being a part of that departmentor part of that entity than it
was before I came?
(14:53):
And so, just, very, very highlevel, what are those 10
elements of leadership?
So, as I said, leadership to meis an acronym.
And what's that acronym?
First and foremost, l lead byexample.
I lead by example and I leadwith a core purpose.
(15:14):
As I mentioned earlier on, Ihave a mission.
My mission is to make people'slives better, and so leading
with a purpose, leading withpassion, is the first thing.
The next is E engagement Reallyengage others, really
(15:35):
understand, listen to people.
What is it that they, what arethe opportunities in order for
us to see things in alignment.
So, really engage, reallyeffectively communicate.
A is accountability.
I tell people the buck stopswith me, accountability.
I tell people the buck stopswith me If I'm given the
(15:56):
responsibility.
Even if somebody else messes up.
I am still responsible.
The buck stops with me.
I do my absolute best never tomake excuses for what I do.
D is development.
I am a continuous and aconsistent learner, always
learning, always looking to grow.
And so D is really developoneself and as a leader, it's
(16:21):
not just about you beingdeveloped, it's how do you
develop your teams.
So really focusing ondevelopment.
E the next E is execution.
I tell people we can have tonsof ideas, but you know what
innovation really is?
Innovation is actually ideascoupled with execution and when
(16:44):
you're able to execute, itreally sets you apart from
people that just have ideas.
It really sets you apart frompeople that just have ideas.
R is about recognizing andacknowledging others.
I always look to catch peopledoing the right thing.
You know, a lot of times youhear people always criticizing I
(17:05):
see you doing this wrong, I seeyou doing that wrong.
I always say recognize peoplefor doing the right thing and
always let them know hey, thatwas a great thing that you did.
S is for solidifyingrelationships.
Really, relationships is theglue that holds everything that
(17:28):
we do together.
So really solidify thoserelationships.
H is about health, not justphysical health, mental health,
social health, spiritual health.
I really focus on trying tomake that core to who I am.
I is interdependence.
A lot of times people becomevery good at the silo that
(17:53):
they're in.
What I tell people is if youwant to gain new knowledge, new
ideas, really focus oninterdependence across the
different verticals and thedifferent silos.
Last but not least is P.
I tell people make leadershippersonal.
Whether it's work leadershippersonal, whether it's work-life
(18:13):
balance, whether it's work-lifeintegration.
Make leadership personal to you, because when it's personal to
you, you will be authentic inwhat you do and that will allow
you to lead in a verysustainable manner.
So I share that framework withpeople.
To let people know that I checkin literally every month.
(18:34):
I check in myself and I say howam I doing on these 10 elements
of leadership and where am Idoing well, where do I need to
maybe do a little bit of a lift?
And just to let you know, forexample, in January, I'm
realizing now that hey.
I haven't been doing thephysical exercise as much as I
(18:57):
need to, and so I am out there.
Yesterday I went after church,I went and I played squash, you
know, in order to get thathealth up.
But without this active focuson those 10 elements, sometimes
it's very easy to focus on someand not on the others.
(19:18):
So that is, overall, myinsights and that is really my
philosophy of leadership.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
I love that.
That was so you put thattogether so succinctly.
I don't think I said that rightSuccinctly, Because what you
just said leadership as anacronym if you drop any one of
those letters, it doesn't spellit correctly, it's not
pronounced correctly, so you'vegot to use all of them.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
That's great.
I like that.
I like that, yep that.
I like that Yep.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Now, one of the things we worked together and we
came up with a tagline and Ilove it.
You know E-O, you knowElizabeth Oyegin, dr E-O
elevating outcomes, empoweringopportunity and I believe that
it aligns with your brand aroundhealth equity and being an
(20:11):
advocate and especially in yourrole as a healthcare
administrator, understandingwhat you mean to the community.
Talk to us a little bit moreabout your core principles and
what drives you as a leader.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
There are a lot of principles.
There are a number ofprinciples I have, but let me
just share a couple ofprinciples that I have
championed over time, and thatis health equity and innovation,
and I see these two elements asreally significant components
(20:54):
to the future of healthcare.
When you think of health equity, what I think of are social
drivers of health.
When I think of innovation, Ithink of precision medicine, I
think of digital, I think of AI,I think of technology, I think
of digital, I think of AI, Ithink of technology, and I feel
(21:36):
like when we bring health equityand social determinants and
social drivers of health and youbring it into the focus of
innovation, what we can do inhealthcare then is we can really
close gaps, care gaps ofpatients, we can improve access
to care and we can personalizepeople's treatments.
So I see innovation and healthequity really as two sides of
the same coin.
That's the way I look at it,because innovation brings and it
amplifies the impact of care,and what equity does is it makes
sure that no one is left behind.
(21:58):
So one brings that impact andit amplifies the impact of care.
The other makes sure thateveryone, no matter who you are,
no matter what zip code youlive in, you get access to that,
and so when you bring healthequity and when you bring
(22:22):
innovation together, what we seehappening is it goes to now
four we have better outcomes, wehave greater value in our
healthcare ecosystem and, mostof all, we have healthier
communities, and with healthiercommunities we make a difference
(22:43):
in everybody's lives.
So those are just componentsthat I would say I have
championed to help make adifference.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
I'm curious now.
I don't know if that's part ofyour V4 principles or something
outside of that.
I do know that you're in theimaging world, the pharmacy
world.
It gives you another, uniqueperspectives.
When you're sitting at thetable, you're in the C-suite
conversations.
How does your uniqueperspectives bring value to all
(23:19):
the different peer groups andorganizational structures boards
and that type of thing to bear?
Speaker 2 (23:27):
I would say because I have had.
If you think about it, I havenot just had pharmacy and
imaging.
That is what I have now, but inthe past I have had pharmacy
and imaging, I've had surgicalservices and primary care, I've
had medical specialty andnursing.
So when I look at what I havehad, when I come to the
(23:52):
boardroom, I come with a moreglobal perspective of the
healthcare system, and that issomething that people tend to
respect and tend to know that Iam bringing to the table a focus
on the global perspectives ofhealthcare.
(24:13):
I think the other thing is,because I have also had that
perspective, I am able to lookat how do we transform care
delivery, how do we haveoperational excellence but at
the same time, how do wemaintain financial
sustainability.
(24:33):
And one of the things that Ihave been able to do as I have
worked in the different servicelines and in the different
departments is I've createdstrategies that I bring to the
table as well.
So you mentioned V4 as anexample.
(24:53):
I will give you a little bitabout V4.
It actually started out as V3.
And what is this V3?
V3 started out as variation,venue and vendor management.
When I was the regional vicepresident, one of the challenges
(25:13):
we had some major challengesthat brought significant
financial loss, and so with thatfinancial loss came what do we
do?
And, of course, in a lot oforganizations, when there's
significant financial loss, thefirst thing people do is they
cut staffing.
(25:34):
And while we had to do somelabor management, what I said is
that we needed to make our costsustainability and our
financial sustainability moreholistic.
Sustainability more holisticand because of understanding the
(25:55):
various departments, I was ableto say, you know what?
There's a lot of variation inhow we do things, in how we
deliver care, in our processesand all of that.
And how can we reduce thatvariation?
Because one of the thingsyou'll find in the literature is
that when you reduce variationin care, when you reduce
(26:16):
unwanted variation in care, thefirst thing that you will see is
that that improves quality andit reduces cost at the same time
.
The next V is venue.
So the question really becamehow are we, you know, are we
having patients havingprocedures in the inpatient that
(26:38):
really should be in theambulatory setting?
So we started looking at howcan we optimize where patients
get their care, both for thepatient's perspective and
patient cost, but also theorganizational costs.
And then the third thing whichsaved us probably the most money
was vendor management lookingto see how many vendors do we
(27:04):
have, what's our contracting allabout, and all of that.
And so when we did that, justto let you know, in the first
year from the V3 perspective, wesaved over $14 million.
Now I've taken it one stepfurther.
In my current role, my currentrole, I am now having it as V4,
(27:28):
because what I've now added isvalue.
What I now want people to thinkabout, regardless of what
department, what service linepeople are in, I want people to
realize that whatever we come upwith moving forward, in
addition to reducing unwantedvariation, in addition to
(28:03):
reducing unwanted variation, inaddition to optimizing the
venues for patients andorganization, and in addition to
the vendor management, I nowwant us to focus on value as we
move forward, focusing on thevalue equation which is quality
times, patient experience overthe cost of delivering that care
, and when we put that intoperspective, that before becomes
a key principle foroperationalizing excellence
(28:25):
moving forward.
It also gives a growth mindsetand it helps people become very
focused and targeted in whatthey do.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
I am so glad that you gave that perspective, because
now I see you more.
Sometimes you read a title likeall right, she knows a lot
about pharmacy, knows a lotabout imaging and, as you just
alluded to, that's just one ofthe things and that's what your
current role is.
But you're much more.
You are holistic in who you are.
(28:58):
As Dr Elizabeth O'Yagan, youlook at the wholeness of what
you bring to the table and Ilove what your philosophies are
and what your go-to strategy is.
You've gotten a great trackrecord when it comes to finances
(29:19):
, financial turnarounds.
You've done a lot of that.
You've got great metrics.
You've got great employeeengagement.
These are facts that arequantifiable in what you shared
with me and what I was able tojust discern on my own.
It's been wonderful workingwith you and I am so glad that
you have joined us on the FollowBrand Podcast.
(29:39):
And there's one more questionI'd like to ask you because I
think this is important.
You also have a daughter that'sover in the UK.
She's into her career now andthen she's doing her thing.
You're at your point in time inyour career.
If you had to give her anyadvice, if you had to say you
know what.
Here's something that maybe youwant to look at that.
(30:03):
If I, when I was your age, Iwasn't really focused on what
would you say to her?
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Let me tell you one of the first things I said to
her after I met you.
I said Doyen and, just so youknow, I'm privileged to be
married to a wonderful guy,richard, for over 30 years.
We have three kids, and mydaughter, doyen, is a physician
(30:31):
in the UK and is now planning ongoing into law, and so she has
been very I'm very fortunate.
She has been asking Mom whatshould I do?
And one of the things I said toher.
I said, first and foremost, Iactually think I want you to
(30:53):
meet Grant and I want you tomeet him.
And please this is not topromote you in any shape or form
.
I said to her I want you tomeet him because what he will
help you do is he will take alook at what it is that you're
doing overall and give you aperspective and just pull out
all those things that are inthere already.
(31:14):
They're already there.
It's not as if he's going tocome up with some magic for you,
but he will help you understandhow to position yourself, how
to brand yourself and how toreally focus on your strengths.
So that's one of the thingsthat I actually said to her, one
(31:36):
of the things that I say ingeneral, and not just to her but
also to my sons and to all theemerging leaders that are out
there.
I always say, right now, I sayyou need to focus on having a
growth mindset, you need tocontinuously grow, you need to
continuously grow, you need tocontinuously learn, you need to
(31:59):
continuously say what is it thatI can do to make things better.
The other thing that my kidswill tell you and even right now
I do new leaders, orientationfor the organization and I share
the leadership acronym becauseI tell them as a leader, you
(32:20):
want to help shape where you are.
You want to make sure thatwhere you are will be better off
because you were there, betteroff because you were there.
And then the third thing that Isay to folks because my kids
are all in healthcare and I tendto do with a lot of folks in
(32:41):
healthcare but even if you thinkabout business, we're at a
crossroads in which way we lookat it.
We're at a crossroads inhealthcare, we're at a
crossroads in business.
And so one of the things I tellyoung emerging leaders is that
this is a unique time inhealthcare, in business, to make
(33:02):
a difference.
And I just say guys, seize thisopportunity with boldness,
because there is no other timethat I can think of than the
present to really make adifference and to put your
footprint on the whole landscapeof health care and of business.
(33:24):
So that's what I tell her andthat's what I tell emerging
leaders emerging leaders, but Ialso tell that to seasoned
leaders, including myself, sothat I keep remembering that, as
I tell others this, that I alsoembody it as well on an ongoing
(33:46):
and a continued basis.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
Well said, well stated.
I can hear Dorian already overthere just clapping.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Like that's my mom.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
This is wonderful.
This has been great.
Love the interview with you.
Thank you for taking the timeto share your story with such
grace.
It's been wonderful.
And before I let you go,they've got to know how did they
get in contact with you?
Where is she at?
How can I send her an email?
(34:16):
How can I get a hold of one ofher books?
I'm sure people are asking thatright now.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
Well, I would say people can get a hold of me on
LinkedIn.
I do my best to respond topeople on LinkedIn, so I will be
privileged and honored to be intouch with anybody on LinkedIn.
My books are on Amazon, but Idon't mind having conversations
with people to help bring what Isay.
(34:45):
It's one thing to read a book,it's another thing to bring it
to life.
So I definitely so people wholisten to this podcast if they
want, you know, for me to justhave a conversation, a brief
conversation, with them about it.
I look forward to that as well.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
That is wonderful.
Thank you so much for sharingyour story.
I want to encourage your entireaudience, your entire family,
to tune in to all the episodesof Follow the Brand that is at
the number five.
That's star S-T-A-R-B-D-M.
B for brand, d for development,infomasterscom.
I want to thank you so muchagain for being on the show.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
Thank you, grant.
It's been a pleasure, it's beena privilege working with you
and look forward to our ongoingcollaborations.
Thank you, absolutely,absolutely.
Take care you.
Welcome everyone to the Follow Brand Podcast.
This is your host, grantMcGaugh, and I'm going to take
it all the way out to the WestCoast.
I have not been there in awhile, but I've been talking to
Dr Elizabeth O'Yakin over thelast month or two or maybe three
.
Matter of fact, and we have amutual friend that's Denzel Ross
(00:25):
, and she was talking to Denzeland Denzel brought up my name.
She said I'm going to look himup.
I'm going to look up GrantMcGaugh.
I like what he does and I wantto have a conversation with him
and see how we can work together.
So I want to bring her to thestage because I love me some.
Dr O'Yagan, she is wonderful.
She has a great story.
(00:45):
We're going to share some ofthat story with you today and I
encourage you to really getinvolved, think about some of
these things that she's talkingabout and let's have a great
conversation.
So, dr Oyekun, you'd like tointroduce yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Thank you very much, grant.
It's truly an honor and aprivilege to be here with you
today.
I am Dr Elizabeth Oyekon and Iam the current vice president of
imaging and pharmacy servicesfor the Stanford Healthcare and
Stanford Healthcare Tri-Valley.
It's a privilege to be here andto engage with you today on the
(01:26):
topic of just healthcareoverall and leadership as well.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Well, we want to talk about you as well, because your
story I found very intriguing.
Everyone has a pivotal moment,If you really think back in time
, that everyone has a pivotalmoment.
If you really think back intime, you've had defining
moments in your life that putyou in the trajectory that
(01:51):
you're in now.
Maybe over the last five yearsyou've been working in a certain
role or you had certainresponsibility that started some
time ago.
We got to talking.
You were talking about a kindof permanente, how that kind of
catapulted you in a whole otherdirection, for where you were at
that time in life.
Talk to us just a little bitabout your journey.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
All right.
So I really have had theprivilege when I was at Kaiser
Permanente, to have very strongmentors, sponsors and coaches.
That really helped me.
Even though I started out inpharmacy, I very quickly pivoted
to taking on a lot moreresponsibilities, and my last
(02:38):
responsibility there was beingthe regional vice president of
operations and of quality forthe region of Colorado.
And then, in about 2016, I hadto go through a transformation
(03:00):
in my career in my career whereI had to step down from
operations into a whole newworld of consulting in order to
give me the flexibility I needed, as well as the time I needed
in order to become a caregiverfor my parents.
And I actually call this time awilderness period in my life
(03:25):
because I witnessed firsthandthe challenges as well as really
the wonderfulness of old age,as well as also seeing the great
empathy and care that peoplegave in the healthcare system
(03:46):
and what it did is it justfurther deepened and reshaped my
perspective around healthcareleadership, around healthcare in
general.
The other thing that it didduring that period that I had to
take care of my parents is thatit gave me a whole new
(04:08):
perspective on the power ofempathy, the power of true
patient-centered care and reallythe opportunities to engage in
my community my community.
So, after about five years ofbeing in the consulting world
(04:29):
and being a caregiver, myincredibly wonderful sister in
England decided to take over thecare of my parents, and what
that did is it gave me theopportunity again to rethink of
what I wanted to do in healthcare, and what I said was,
(04:50):
regardless of what I did inhealth care, whether I stayed in
the consulting world, whether Iwent back into operations, one
of the things that I gained wasa new and a renewed sense of
purpose, and so today I can tellyou that what my professional
mission is and what I aspire tocontinuously do every single day
(05:15):
, is to make the lives of peoplebetter through leadership,
through education and throughcommunity, and that's what I
hope I am now able to give everysingle day in the work that I
do, and that really stemmed fromthat wilderness period in my
(05:37):
career journey.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
I'm so glad you talked through that.
Sometimes we feel vulnerable.
We don't really put thosethings out there, but realizing
that some of the challenges wego through in life are actually
the catapult to get you to adifferent level or a higher
level in what you're doing me onyour track for leadership was
(06:05):
because of your consultingbackground, because you went
through this wilderness period.
When you got back intoleadership at a healthcare
organization, you had adifferent brand.
They saw you differently.
You had a wider outlook.
Talk to us a little bit aboutthat.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
All right.
So before I went into theconsulting world, I was
definitely in operations and Ihad been in operations from
starting in pharmacy all the wayto overseeing the operations
for a total health system in theColorado region, as well as
quality, when I went into mywilderness period and I went
(06:53):
into the consulting world.
Now, looking back, I realizeit's probably one of the best
things that ever happened.
And why do I say that that everhappened?
And why do I say that In theconsulting world, what I learned
was the whole idea of strategy.
At a 30,000 foot level, I knewstrategy boots on the ground in
(07:17):
health systems, in operations,but strategy at a global level
working with health plans butstrategy at a global level
working with health plans,working with manufacturers, was
a whole different ballgame.
And so overseeing all thosedepartments that I've seen, as
well as now having that globalperspective of health care,
(07:42):
health care trends, what thathas been able to do for me are
the following things First ofall, it's allowed me to
integrate different disciplinesbecause I have an understanding
of, like, the core needs of thedisciplines, and it's also
allowed me to bridge strategyand execution, bridge strategy
(08:12):
and execution, so having avision and also being able to
execute it on global scales aswell, as departmentals at a
departmental level have beenable to do.
The other thing that has alsooccurred in bringing the
consulting arm and bringing theoperation arm together is really
driving innovation andsystemness in an organization
(08:32):
and, very, very importantly,it's really allowed me to
understand the criticalimportance of having
relationships, of collaborating,and not just collaborating
within departments that is veryimportant but collaborating
across the organization butoutside of the organization.
(08:54):
So, in consulting, when we arecollaborating, we're bringing in
providers, we're bringing inpharma, we're bringing in pharma
, we're bringing in politicians,we're bringing in a number of
stakeholders in the healthcarespace.
So that's what also thisallowed me to do.
(09:15):
One of the most important things, though, that I will say that I
have gained, looking at thisglobal perspective, is really
understanding the importance ofhealth equity and how health
equity really it's a thread thatis woven through every
discipline in healthcare inorder for us to achieve what I
(09:38):
call the aspirational vision ofhealthcare that we have in this
country, and that's what I callthe quintuple aim.
It's us looking to see how do weimprove care, improve access,
improve patient outcomes,improving the cost of care, but
(09:59):
also improving the interactivityof our providers and our staff
in order to bring equity toeveryone.
So that is really what havingthis global perspective of
operations and consulting that'swhat it was able to do.
And so, when I was beinginterviewed for the role that I
(10:22):
currently have, when I asked youknow what were the core things
that had them choose me over 30plus candidates and they said
that the ability that you wereable to bring bringing in
operation, ability to executeand bringing in global strategy
(10:46):
and vision was something thatwas unique, that they had not
really seen.
So that is what, even though,looking back, when I had to
switch from operations toconsulting, I said, oh my gosh,
this is a whole different toconsulting.
I said, oh my gosh, this is awhole different game.
It was very challenging, butnow, looking back, I could not
(11:15):
have had a better period in mylife to continue to grow
professionally.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Well, we're glad that that happened.
You know, at the time you'relike, you know it's kind of.
You know it's easy to look backsometimes and sometimes it's
hard to look forward, especiallyif you're going through a
challenge.
You can't see the positivityalways in certain situations.
(11:38):
But this is the path of growthand we have choices.
We can either keep goingforward, we can fall back, or we
can just stay in that statusquo.
You took on the challengebecause of your values.
You helped your parents Ithought that was wonderful Put
you on a different track, gotinto consulting and then, when
you came back to the healthcareleadership, you were ready.
(12:00):
You were ready.
You were probably much furtheralong than you would have been
if you had taken a differentroute.
Now most people don't know.
I'm going to bring out one ofyour secrets.
You're an author.
You have written several bookson leadership.
I want to first know what.
What was your passion aboutwriting the books?
(12:23):
What propelled you Like?
You know I need to get this outand then tell us about what the
book is about and who you'relooking to impact.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Thank you, grant.
So I have had the privilege ofwriting a number of books, some
in the area of health equity incollaboration with team members,
some in the area of pharmacyand care delivery models, but
the one I would say that I ammost proud of is the one that I
(12:57):
wrote around leadership, and letme give you a little bit of
background as to why I evenfinally wrote that book.
Okay, as I said earlier on, bybackground I am a pharmacist,
and when I became the regionalvice president for operations
(13:18):
and quality also the firstAfrican-American female to hold
that type of a position peoplekept asking me, elizabeth,
what's your secret to successwhen it comes to leadership?
Because it appears that nomatter what department so
whether you're in primary careor surgical services, whether
(13:42):
you're in pharmacy or radiology,no matter where you are you
seem to be able to be successfulin leading your teams.
And so people asked me what ismy secret to success?
And I said you know what?
I don't know if I have a secret, but what I started to do, I
started to really think what arethose components about
(14:07):
leadership that have become coreto how I lead, leadership that
have become core to how I leadand believe it or not, what I
realized was that the termleadership is not just a noun,
it's not just a verb, it'sactually an acronym.
It's an acronym to how I leadon a consistent basis.
(14:33):
It's an acronym that allows meto check in to say am I leading
in the way that will makewherever I am better for me
being a part of that departmentor part of that entity than it
was before I came?
(14:53):
And so, just, very, very highlevel, what are those 10
elements of leadership?
So, as I said, leadership to meis an acronym.
And what's that acronym?
First and foremost, l lead byexample.
I lead by example and I leadwith a core purpose.
(15:14):
As I mentioned earlier on, Ihave a mission.
My mission is to make people'slives better, and so leading
with a purpose, leading withpassion, is the first thing.
The next is E engagement Reallyengage others, really
(15:35):
understand, listen to people.
What is it that they, what arethe opportunities in order for
us to see things in alignment.
So, really engage, reallyeffectively communicate.
A is accountability.
I tell people the buck stopswith me, accountability.
I tell people the buck stopswith me If I'm given the
(15:56):
responsibility.
Even if somebody else messes up.
I am still responsible.
The buck stops with me.
I do my absolute best never tomake excuses for what I do.
D is development.
I am a continuous and aconsistent learner, always
learning, always looking to grow.
And so D is really developoneself and as a leader, it's
(16:21):
not just about you beingdeveloped, it's how do you
develop your teams.
So really focusing ondevelopment.
E the next E is execution.
I tell people we can have tonsof ideas, but you know what
innovation really is?
Innovation is actually ideascoupled with execution and when
(16:44):
you're able to execute, itreally sets you apart from
people that just have ideas.
It really sets you apart frompeople that just have ideas.
R is about recognizing andacknowledging others.
I always look to catch peopledoing the right thing.
You know, a lot of times youhear people always criticizing I
(17:05):
see you doing this wrong, I seeyou doing that wrong.
I always say recognize peoplefor doing the right thing and
always let them know hey, thatwas a great thing that you did.
S is for solidifyingrelationships.
Really, relationships is theglue that holds everything that
(17:28):
we do together.
So really solidify thoserelationships.
H is about health, not justphysical health, mental health,
social health, spiritual health.
I really focus on trying tomake that core to who I am.
I is interdependence.
A lot of times people becomevery good at the silo that
(17:53):
they're in.
What I tell people is if youwant to gain new knowledge, new
ideas, really focus oninterdependence across the
different verticals and thedifferent silos.
Last but not least is P.
I tell people make leadershippersonal.
Whether it's work leadershippersonal, whether it's work-life
(18:13):
balance, whether it's work-lifeintegration.
Make leadership personal to you, because when it's personal to
you, you will be authentic inwhat you do and that will allow
you to lead in a verysustainable manner.
So I share that framework withpeople.
To let people know that I checkin literally every month.
(18:34):
I check in myself and I say howam I doing on these 10 elements
of leadership and where am Idoing well, where do I need to
maybe do a little bit of a lift?
And just to let you know, forexample, in January, I'm
realizing now that hey.
I haven't been doing thephysical exercise as much as I
(18:57):
need to, and so I am out there.
Yesterday I went after church,I went and I played squash, you
know, in order to get thathealth up.
But without this active focuson those 10 elements, sometimes
it's very easy to focus on someand not on the others.
(19:18):
So that is, overall, myinsights and that is really my
philosophy of leadership.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
I love that.
That was so you put thattogether so succinctly.
I don't think I said that rightSuccinctly, Because what you
just said leadership as anacronym if you drop any one of
those letters, it doesn't spellit correctly, it's not
pronounced correctly, so you'vegot to use all of them.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
That's great.
I like that.
I like that, yep that.
I like that Yep.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Now, one of the things we worked together and we
came up with a tagline and Ilove it.
You know E-O, you knowElizabeth Oyegin, dr E-O
elevating outcomes, empoweringopportunity and I believe that
it aligns with your brand aroundhealth equity and being an
(20:11):
advocate and especially in yourrole as a healthcare
administrator, understandingwhat you mean to the community.
Talk to us a little bit moreabout your core principles and
what drives you as a leader.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
There are a lot of principles.
There are a number ofprinciples I have, but let me
just share a couple ofprinciples that I have
championed over time, and thatis health equity and innovation,
and I see these two elements asreally significant components
(20:54):
to the future of healthcare.
When you think of health equity, what I think of are social
drivers of health.
When I think of innovation, Ithink of precision medicine, I
think of digital, I think of AI,I think of technology, I think
of digital, I think of AI, Ithink of technology, and I feel
(21:36):
like when we bring health equityand social determinants and
social drivers of health and youbring it into the focus of
innovation, what we can do inhealthcare then is we can really
close gaps, care gaps ofpatients, we can improve access
to care and we can personalizepeople's treatments.
So I see innovation and healthequity really as two sides of
the same coin.
That's the way I look at it,because innovation brings and it
amplifies the impact of care,and what equity does is it makes
sure that no one is left behind.
(21:58):
So one brings that impact andit amplifies the impact of care.
The other makes sure thateveryone, no matter who you are,
no matter what zip code youlive in, you get access to that,
and so when you bring healthequity and when you bring
(22:22):
innovation together, what we seehappening is it goes to now
four we have better outcomes, wehave greater value in our
healthcare ecosystem and, mostof all, we have healthier
communities, and with healthiercommunities we make a difference
(22:43):
in everybody's lives.
So those are just componentsthat I would say I have
championed to help make adifference.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
I'm curious now.
I don't know if that's part ofyour V4 principles or something
outside of that.
I do know that you're in theimaging world, the pharmacy
world.
It gives you another, uniqueperspectives.
When you're sitting at thetable, you're in the C-suite
conversations.
How does your uniqueperspectives bring value to all
(23:19):
the different peer groups andorganizational structures boards
and that type of thing to bear?
Speaker 2 (23:27):
I would say because I have had.
If you think about it, I havenot just had pharmacy and
imaging.
That is what I have now, but inthe past I have had pharmacy
and imaging, I've had surgicalservices and primary care, I've
had medical specialty andnursing.
So when I look at what I havehad, when I come to the
(23:52):
boardroom, I come with a moreglobal perspective of the
healthcare system, and that issomething that people tend to
respect and tend to know that Iam bringing to the table a focus
on the global perspectives ofhealthcare.
(24:13):
I think the other thing is,because I have also had that
perspective, I am able to lookat how do we transform care
delivery, how do we haveoperational excellence but at
the same time, how do wemaintain financial
sustainability.
(24:33):
And one of the things that Ihave been able to do as I have
worked in the different servicelines and in the different
departments is I've createdstrategies that I bring to the
table as well.
So you mentioned V4 as anexample.
(24:53):
I will give you a little bitabout V4.
It actually started out as V3.
And what is this V3?
V3 started out as variation,venue and vendor management.
When I was the regional vicepresident, one of the challenges
(25:13):
we had some major challengesthat brought significant
financial loss, and so with thatfinancial loss came what do we
do?
And, of course, in a lot oforganizations, when there's
significant financial loss, thefirst thing people do is they
cut staffing.
(25:34):
And while we had to do somelabor management, what I said is
that we needed to make our costsustainability and our
financial sustainability moreholistic.
Sustainability more holisticand because of understanding the
(25:55):
various departments, I was ableto say, you know what?
There's a lot of variation inhow we do things, in how we
deliver care, in our processesand all of that.
And how can we reduce thatvariation?
Because one of the thingsyou'll find in the literature is
that when you reduce variationin care, when you reduce
(26:16):
unwanted variation in care, thefirst thing that you will see is
that that improves quality andit reduces cost at the same time
.
The next V is venue.
So the question really becamehow are we, you know, are we
having patients havingprocedures in the inpatient that
(26:38):
really should be in theambulatory setting?
So we started looking at howcan we optimize where patients
get their care, both for thepatient's perspective and
patient cost, but also theorganizational costs.
And then the third thing whichsaved us probably the most money
was vendor management lookingto see how many vendors do we
(27:04):
have, what's our contracting allabout, and all of that.
And so when we did that, justto let you know, in the first
year from the V3 perspective, wesaved over $14 million.
Now I've taken it one stepfurther.
In my current role, my currentrole, I am now having it as V4,
(27:28):
because what I've now added isvalue.
What I now want people to thinkabout, regardless of what
department, what service linepeople are in, I want people to
realize that whatever we come upwith moving forward, in
addition to reducing unwantedvariation, in addition to
(28:03):
reducing unwanted variation, inaddition to optimizing the
venues for patients andorganization, and in addition to
the vendor management, I nowwant us to focus on value as we
move forward, focusing on thevalue equation which is quality
times, patient experience overthe cost of delivering that care
, and when we put that intoperspective, that before becomes
a key principle foroperationalizing excellence
(28:25):
moving forward.
It also gives a growth mindsetand it helps people become very
focused and targeted in whatthey do.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
I am so glad that you gave that perspective, because
now I see you more.
Sometimes you read a title likeall right, she knows a lot
about pharmacy, knows a lotabout imaging and, as you just
alluded to, that's just one ofthe things and that's what your
current role is.
But you're much more.
You are holistic in who you are.
(28:58):
As Dr Elizabeth O'Yagan, youlook at the wholeness of what
you bring to the table and Ilove what your philosophies are
and what your go-to strategy is.
You've gotten a great trackrecord when it comes to finances
(29:19):
, financial turnarounds.
You've done a lot of that.
You've got great metrics.
You've got great employeeengagement.
These are facts that arequantifiable in what you shared
with me and what I was able tojust discern on my own.
It's been wonderful workingwith you and I am so glad that
you have joined us on the FollowBrand Podcast.
(29:39):
And there's one more questionI'd like to ask you because I
think this is important.
You also have a daughter that'sover in the UK.
She's into her career now andthen she's doing her thing.
You're at your point in time inyour career.
If you had to give her anyadvice, if you had to say you
know what.
Here's something that maybe youwant to look at that.
(30:03):
If I, when I was your age, Iwasn't really focused on what
would you say to her?
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Let me tell you one of the first things I said to
her after I met you.
I said Doyen and, just so youknow, I'm privileged to be
married to a wonderful guy,richard, for over 30 years.
We have three kids, and mydaughter, doyen, is a physician
(30:31):
in the UK and is now planning ongoing into law, and so she has
been very I'm very fortunate.
She has been asking Mom whatshould I do?
And one of the things I said toher.
I said, first and foremost, Iactually think I want you to
(30:53):
meet Grant and I want you tomeet him.
And please this is not topromote you in any shape or form
.
I said to her I want you tomeet him because what he will
help you do is he will take alook at what it is that you're
doing overall and give you aperspective and just pull out
all those things that are inthere already.
(31:14):
They're already there.
It's not as if he's going tocome up with some magic for you,
but he will help you understandhow to position yourself, how
to brand yourself and how toreally focus on your strengths.
So that's one of the thingsthat I actually said to her, one
(31:36):
of the things that I say ingeneral, and not just to her but
also to my sons and to all theemerging leaders that are out
there.
I always say, right now, I sayyou need to focus on having a
growth mindset, you need tocontinuously grow, you need to
continuously grow, you need tocontinuously learn, you need to
(31:59):
continuously say what is it thatI can do to make things better.
The other thing that my kidswill tell you and even right now
I do new leaders, orientationfor the organization and I share
the leadership acronym becauseI tell them as a leader, you
(32:20):
want to help shape where you are.
You want to make sure thatwhere you are will be better off
because you were there, betteroff because you were there.
And then the third thing that Isay to folks because my kids
are all in healthcare and I tendto do with a lot of folks in
(32:41):
healthcare but even if you thinkabout business, we're at a
crossroads in which way we lookat it.
We're at a crossroads inhealthcare, we're at a
crossroads in business.
And so one of the things I tellyoung emerging leaders is that
this is a unique time inhealthcare, in business, to make
(33:02):
a difference.
And I just say guys, seize thisopportunity with boldness,
because there is no other timethat I can think of than the
present to really make adifference and to put your
footprint on the whole landscapeof health care and of business.
(33:24):
So that's what I tell her andthat's what I tell emerging
leaders emerging leaders, but Ialso tell that to seasoned
leaders, including myself, sothat I keep remembering that, as
I tell others this, that I alsoembody it as well on an ongoing
(33:46):
and a continued basis.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
Well said, well stated.
I can hear Dorian already overthere just clapping.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Like that's my mom.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
This is wonderful.
This has been great.
Love the interview with you.
Thank you for taking the timeto share your story with such
grace.
It's been wonderful.
And before I let you go,they've got to know how did they
get in contact with you?
Where is she at?
How can I send her an email?
(34:16):
How can I get a hold of one ofher books?
I'm sure people are asking thatright now.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
Well, I would say people can get a hold of me on
LinkedIn.
I do my best to respond topeople on LinkedIn, so I will be
privileged and honored to be intouch with anybody on LinkedIn.
My books are on Amazon, but Idon't mind having conversations
with people to help bring what Isay.
(34:45):
It's one thing to read a book,it's another thing to bring it
to life.
So I definitely so people wholisten to this podcast if they
want, you know, for me to justhave a conversation, a brief
conversation, with them about it.
I look forward to that as well.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
That is wonderful.
Thank you so much for sharingyour story.
I want to encourage your entireaudience, your entire family,
to tune in to all the episodesof Follow the Brand that is at
the number five.
That's star S-T-A-R-B-D-M.
B for brand, d for development,infomasterscom.
I want to thank you so muchagain for being on the show.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
Thank you, grant.
It's been a pleasure, it's beena privilege working with you
and look forward to our ongoingcollaborations.
Thank you, absolutely,absolutely.
Take care you.
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Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.